Chapter 80: Chapter 80 Frightening Hail_1
"You didn’t hit me! You didn’t hit me!" the old village chief quickly shook his head. "I fell on my own."
"Then what happened?" Su Xuan was confused. If the man had fallen on his own, why was he mentioning his car?
"It’s like this..." The old village chief caught his breath and began to explain.
It turned out that a pair of young siblings lived on a mountain ridge about three miles west of the village. He had wanted to go over and notify them to come to the village to collect disaster relief supplies. However, the roads were in terrible condition after the disaster, and he had taken a nasty fall on his bike just after leaving the village. He had come looking for a car to take some relief supplies directly to the siblings’ home. That’s when he happened to see Su Xuan’s imposing and formidable Charman King SUV.
"Don’t the siblings have a phone?" Lu Dachun leaned in to ask.
"Them? They’re only thirteen or fourteen, orphans, and a designated high-poverty household. Where would they get a phone?" The old village chief spread his hands helplessly, his face etched with anxiety. "The siblings’ house has been in disrepair for ages," he added. "I’m worried it might have collapsed during last night’s disaster..."
"You should get that wound bandaged first," Su Xuan said, then announced, "I’ll go with you."
He waved his hand, and two medics from Kangnai immediately came over to bandage the old village chief’s wound.
Guo Yuxiang, watching from the side, scoffed inwardly. How shameless. He’s using this as an excuse to order Kangnai’s medical staff around...
Then, he scrambled into his luxury pickup, started the engine, and with a roar, parked it right in front of the old village chief.
"Use my truck!" Guo Yuxiang said proudly, one hand resting on the steering wheel.
He finally had his chance to show off. My Ford F-150 is the only luxury vehicle on this entire threshing ground! Impressive and practical!
To Guo Yuxiang’s shock, the old village chief smacked his lips and said, "Your truck won’t do!" The comment so infuriated Guo Yuxiang that he almost leaped from his truck to confront the man.
The old village chief then pointed at Su Xuan. "I’d still prefer to ride in his car. His car looks very... potent!"
Fearing no one would believe him, the old village chief even walked to the edge of the threshing ground and pointed at Su Xuan’s Charman King. "Look, everyone! I’ve never seen an SUV like this before. It’s tough and full of spirit, just like I was in my youth!"
"Wow! What a beast of a car!"
"It looks like it’s from the future! So sci-fi!"
"It also looks like an armored vehicle. You think it’s bulletproof?"
"Does anyone know how much a car like this costs? I want one!"
As soon as the crowd laid eyes on the vehicle, they erupted in exclamations. Some couldn’t resist running down from the threshing ground to get a closer look.
"Damn!" Guo Yuxiang muttered, walking over for a look himself. His eyes went wide. "It’s a Charman King!"
The reason he recognized it was his extensive knowledge of pickups and SUVs. He even knew the Charman King used an engine from the Ford F-550 platform.
There are only nine Charman Kings in the entire world! How could a delivery guy...
Just as Guo Yuxiang was about to step forward and question Su Xuan, a small hand suddenly grabbed his arm. He turned to see it was Su Zimo.
"Zi Mo, you’re finally talking to me!" Guo Yuxiang was so thrilled he nearly wept.
"Yu Xiang, we’re classmates, not strangers. Let me tell you something," Su Zimo said, not bothering with pleasantries and lowering her voice. "I don’t care what you’re thinking, or how much you look down on a delivery guy, but you must never, ever go out of your way to bother him, mock him, or ridicule him. And don’t you dare try to compare your possessions with his... because he is not at all who you think he is! His name is Su Xuan. He’s my friend, and I hope you two can become friends as well!"
"Huh?" Guo Yuxiang’s mouth hung open in bewilderment.
You pulled my arm just to tell me this? Are you doing this for my sake, or for his?
Just as he was about to press Su Zimo for more details, he realized she had already returned to Su Xuan’s side.
"Su Xuan, you bought a new car and didn’t even tell me," Su Zimo said to Su Xuan in a deliberately reproachful tone.
"Yeah, Su Xuan, I didn’t know you got a new car either. And someone delivered it to you personally?" Lu Dachun added, a puzzled look on his face.
"Heh, let’s get down to business," Su Xuan said with a faint smile, leading the village chief toward his new car.
"I’m coming too!"
"Me too!"
Su Zimo and Lu Dachun both followed close behind.
But what happened next left Su Xuan and the others not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"It’s so luxurious!"
"It has a big sofa and a carpet?"
"There’s even a minibar!"
"I... I can’t ride in your car..."
The moment the car door opened, the old village chief saw the Charman King’s luxurious interior. He glanced down at his own mud-caked clothes and immediately refused to get in. No matter how much Su Xuan and the others tried to persuade him, he would not set foot inside.
In the end, Guo Yuxiang got his wish. The village chief settled for second best and got into his truck.
Su Xuan decided to go anyway. Hearing that the young siblings were orphans, he couldn’t stop worrying about them. He specially selected some delivery packages, grabbed two sets of bedding from Lycar’s supplies, and brought two Kangnai medics along, then set off for the siblings’ home in his brand-new SUV.
This was clearly his last relief stop of the day.
RUMBLE!
SPLASH!
As the car drove about a mile up the mountain road from the village, the sky suddenly darkened. Thunder rumbled as rain began to pour. Su Xuan’s car automatically detected the dim light and switched on its headlights, illuminating Guo Yuxiang’s truck ahead.
What a show-off, blasting me with his high beams!
Guo Yuxiang glanced at his rearview mirror, debating whether to speed up and shake Su Xuan. Suddenly, there was a loud BANG, and a huge hole appeared in his windshield!
Hail!
A fist-sized hailstone had smashed through the glass without warning and landed inside the cab.
"Village Chief..." Taking a deep breath, Guo Yuxiang turned his pale face to the old man. "Is the hail always this big here?"
"These are the small ones!" the village chief said, gesturing with his hands. "I’ve seen hailstones as big as basketballs! One killed a cow instantly!"
"Hiss!" Guo Yuxiang sucked in a sharp breath.
I really hope I don’t run into any basketball-sized hail... He suddenly regretted his bravado, wishing he hadn’t left Liangzi back at the threshing ground.
THWACK! THWACK!
The hail rained down relentlessly, pounding his luxury pickup truck. Guo Yuxiang could see that his hood was already a horrific mess of dents and pits. He tried to check on Su Xuan’s car through his rearview mirror, but with a sharp CRACK, a hailstone smashed his side mirror clean off.
The shock sent his heart leaping into his throat.
Meanwhile, inside Su Xuan’s car, it was a completely different scene...